idealism – INFJ Ramblings

INFJ People Meetup: Compatibility and Traits in Different INFJs

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:21:00 +0000

A week ago I attended an MBTI meetup for the first time. This particular one was focused on the idealist temperament and the amazing thing with this meeting is that we ended up being only INFJs attending. Before going I had never been sure if I ever met another INFJ or not, at least not another male INFJ. So this was going to be a great social experiment for me and maybe I would get some answers concerning the thoughts I have been having about MBTI and how valid it might be.

I always wondered if the negative aspects of me as a person was something every INFJ suffered or if it was strictly me and something my life has shaped me into. This is a question that has been haunting me for some time since I would like to find comfort in being an INFJ and that it would explain a lot of it.

Anyhow, I had a great time at this meeting. The most amazing part was the instant chemistry that we all had as a group (7 people). It seems like we got a long straight from the start and had such interesting talks about deep things and MBTI. What strike me the most is that one of the INFJ guys was really similar to me in interests and life experience, he was even originating from the same country as me. Similar humor, taste in music/film, both artists working in almost the same field. Using similar body language and expressions. Quite amazing. We seemed to have a lot in common and sadly enough this person told me he also suffered a bad childhood.

I realized at this meeting that there is other kinds of INFJs that are not very similar to me. Maybe they are not an INFJ but who knows. My intuition tells me that MBTI is mostly a type of tool that tries to describe and predict something that is way more complex then simple cognitive functions. We all use different cognitive processes but in the end there is so much more complex systems in action that make you who you are and how your personality is. MBTI only scratches the surface so to speak. I would like to say that the biggest thing we INFJs share amongst each other is that we have the same moral and value systems in action. Which is why we don’t fit that well in society and might struggle in our lives. We value concepts that simply do not exist easily in the world the way we imagine them. For example the concept of a perfect world where we are all treated equally and live in harmony. This is not the basis of which humans are created from. We are alienated among others because we see things in another light, we see them for what they really are, and we act upon this. But honestly, who would like it any other way?

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INFJ People: Terence McKenna on Beliefs, Religion and Spirituality

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 22:03:00 +0000

For the last couple of months I’ve been thinking a lot about spirituality and beliefs. For most of my life I have not been very religious. You could say I have always had a rational view on religion, that it doesn’t make sense when you look at it scientifically. Like for example that there could be no truth in that the world was created like the bible describes. To me most religions in the world seems based and ruled by fear, to explain and give comfort and meaning to people who are afraid. Because of it’s strong effect on us religion and beliefs has also been what is being used as motives to do great harm in the world. I would like to say that for me, some of them are nothing more than a one man cult. Religion should not be about worship or creating walls separating us from each other.

MBTI says that INFJ’s are some of the most spiritual and religious personality types. I would say that in my case that has not turned out to be true until I became older. I never saw the point in going to church even though my family and relatives are very Christian. Christianity was never something for me. I can believe in all the good things that the bible tells us on how we should be, and all the goodness it represents. But the way Christianity affects our world, and especially by the Catholic church, I could never believe or be ok with. Preventing people from taking precautions to not transmit AIDS and HIV when millions of people are dying from it is not something you can consider a healthy and functional belief system. Religion should help people and help us stay connected to each other, not take lives.

As I got older I started questioning more in life. At some point I realized that there is a lot more going on in the world we live in then what meets the eye. There is so much that can’t be explained by either religion or science and there is definitely something more to life then what we simple humans are aware of. The picture of the universe that science and many religions draws for us is incomplete, anybody who would say there is not much more to it then that would be wrong indeed. I think everybody should be free to believe in what they want, but what I hope is that people choose to believe in something and not someone. You are the center of your own universe.

One of my favorite people who also happened to be a INFJ, is Terence McKenna (R.I.P). I think his views, knowledge and beliefs about life is simple amazing and I wish there was more people like him in the world. If there was, the world would be a better place. I feel like he always got to the core of things in his questions and views on life and knows where the true value lies. I share a lot of his believes and I think that the world we live in should be treated with respect. We should be genuine to ourselves and others and never stop exploring because there is much more to it then what we already know.

To wrap this all up I want to leave you with an excerpt from one of his speeches which I hope you will enjoy as much as I do:

“We have to stop consuming our culture. We have to create culture. Don’t watch TV, don’t read magazines, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time, where you are now, is the most immediate sector of your universe. And if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered. You are giving it all away to icons. Icons which are maintained by an electronic media, so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is sh*t-brained this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion. And what is real is you and your friends, and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told no. We’re unimportant, we’re peripheral, get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that, and then you’re a player. You don’t even want to play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world. Where is that at?”

Terence McKenna – Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution

Terence McKenna – Wikipedia

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INFJ Feelings in Tattoos and Idealism

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:51:00 +0000

I read an interesting article the other day about extroverted feeling and it sparked some thoughts in my mind concerning the different cognitive processes. Apparently extroverted feeling is more common among men then women, and introverted feeling more common among women. This lines up well with some of the stereotyping we have in todays society. I’m a fan of tattoos and acquired quite a few myself along the years. After researching a bit, it seems like tattoos is most common with extroverted feelers as a means of expression and an extension of themselves into the outside world. Now days it’s becoming more and more common and accepted to have tattoos and show them in public and at work, especially for men. When it comes to women we still have some kind of strange judgments that women should not have or show tattoos in public like men do. One might wonder if you could connect this to women having a higher amount of introverted feelers that are more likely to see tattoos in a different light then extroverted feelers. Food for thought at least.

Tattoos is yet another thing in my life that lines up perfectly with my personality and cognitive processes of being an INFJ. I’ve also discovered more patterns in me that feels true to being an INFJ and an idealistic personality. When it comes to love, attraction and friendships, I’ve realized that my taste in people often turns out to be people that stand out in the crowd, just as I see myself. With that I mean not in an physical attraction sense but that they have something that makes them special, both in positive or even negative ways. I feel I gravitate towards people that are unique and have some depth in their character. Maybe it is because I am this myself, a complex person, and superficial people bore and don’t interest me. When I think of my friends and people I at some point felt was true friends, I can see that there was always something that separated them from the rest. Some talent, trait or unusual behavior that made me feel like I wanted to get to know them more.

As an INFJ I am among few people that can see past peoples flaws and see them for who they really are and their potential. I noticed that people that have issues socially gravitate towards me because they do not have to pretend who they are when they are with me. They will be seen and accepted for who they really are and when you think about it, isn’t that what we all INFJs wants to be accepted for in the end as well. We are extroverted feelers projecting ourselves and our feelings out into the world. Considering the values we hold on the inside maybe this is one of the greatest strengths with INFJ types.

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